Your Right to Know

Fueled by issues including Common Core education standards, Medicaid expansion and stricter
abortion limits, a large number of conservative challengers have emerged this year in Franklin
County and across Ohio to take on Republican state legislators.

“There is no question I’m the more conservative candidate,” said Pat Manley, who is challenging
Rep. Stephanie Kunze, R-Hilliard.

“Voters now have a choice, and they can vote for a true conservative,” said Meta Hahn, who is
taking on Rep. Anne Gonzales, R-Westerville.

Kevin Solveson wants to knock off Sen. Kevin Bacon, R-Minerva Park, so he can push passage of
the “heartbeat bill,” which would ban abortions in Ohio after a heartbeat can be detected.

Twenty Republican legislators — five in the Senate and 15 in the House — face primary challenges
this year, five times the number in 2012. Tea party groups and an organization pushing the
heartbeat bill have helped to recruit a wave of candidates.

The challenges come even as many Statehouse observers say the legislature, particularly the
House, has grown noticeably more conservative in recent years.

“I don’t know if perfect is perfect enough for some individuals,” said Senate President Keith
Faber, R-Celina, adding that some members are being unfairly attacked for their records,
particularly on abortion, even after passing numerous anti-abortion measures.

A few GOP incumbents are being challenged because of circumstance, such as Rep. Peter Beck,
R-Mason, who has been indicted on 69 felony counts related to a Cincinnati-area investment deal. He
maintains his innocence.

But most are being tested by those who do not believe the incumbents are sufficiently
conservative.

Rep. Matt Huffman, chairman of the House GOP campaign committee, pointed to the activist
legislature. “The more you do, the more people don’t like some of the things that you’re
doing."

People can get mad about an issue and run for the legislature, Huffman said, “but then there’s a
reality about what running for office really means. There are hundreds of issues. Then you have to
actually run a campaign and get volunteers. It’s a pretty daunting task.”

Manley, a Columbus architect, has focused on wanting to eliminate Common Core standards for math
and reading, and he criticizes Kunze for not supporting repeal of the measure. Most states have
adopted the Common Core, which is designed to ensure college or job readiness.

“She was handpicked by the party, so she has a lot of political debt to the party,” he said. “
That doesn’t always jibe with the voters.”

Kunze, in her first term, said she was encouraged to run by friends and neighbors. “I’ve never
been accused of being political.”

Manley also criticizes Kunze for not opposing Medicaid expansion, for supporting a
capital-budget bill that “is essentially more debt,” and for sponsoring an electronic-cigarette
bill that, although it was aimed at banning sales to minors, was opposed by anti-smoking groups
that saw it as a way for tobacco companies to try to avoid future taxes and regulation.

“I would be very suspect of any bill that a large lobbyist group, particularly the tobacco
industry, handed over to me,” Manley said. “I wouldn’t do that. To me, that’s a more-conservative
approach.”

Keeping children from nicotine products is conservative, Kunze said. “If a good piece of
legislation comes to you, why does a tobacco company have to be evil?”

Kunze and Gonzales both said they are working to address specific concerns with Common Core,
such as testing issues and protecting student data, but both indicated that the school districts
they represent don’t have broad problems with the standards.

“I don’t want to get into a fight about who is more or less conservative,” Kunze said. “I hope
voters will look at my complete record ... and have I done what I said I was going to do.”

Hahn, secretary of the Westerville Tea Party, said Gonzales has a “poor record” in the House,
including votes on taxes and spending increases, while not doing enough to oppose Medicaid
expansion.

Gonzales “has been silent on the poor quality of education our children are receiving. I am the
candidate willing to repeal the poor, federally intrusive standards known as Common Core. My
challenger is not.”

Gonzales, who is in her second term, said she has been a leader in getting bills passed into
law. “She’s a tea party candidate. I’m a Republican who tries to get a lot done for my district,”
Gonzales said. “I have shown that with the number of bills I have passed.”

Solveson said that he and Bacon align on most issues, “but this issue of abortion is so
important that I couldn’t let that go.”

The House passed the heartbeat bill last session, but it died in the Senate. Neither chamber has
acted on it in this session as questions linger about its constitutionality.

“It was designed precisely to challenge Roe v. Wade,” Solveson said.

Bacon noted that he is endorsed by Ohio Right to Life. “I’m also passionate about pro-life
issues, but I’m passionate about a lot of other issues, too, and have a track record I can point
to,” he said, citing work on issues including victims’ rights, cyberfraud and Ohioans with special
needs.

“There’s a lot to being in the General Assembly and a lot more I want to do,” Bacon said.